Constraints on Supermassive Black Hole Binaries from JWST and NANOGrav

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Hauptverfasser: Padmanabhan, Hamsa, Loeb, Abraham
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Padmanabhan, Hamsa
Loeb, Abraham
author_facet Padmanabhan, Hamsa
Loeb, Abraham
contents We use the recent statistics of dual active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the $James \ Webb \ Space \ Telescope$ (JWST) data at $z \sim 3.4$ to address two aspects of the feedback and evolution scenarios of supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHB). We find that the JWST data provide evidence for the members of a binary black hole being 'lit' at the same time, rather than independently -- a scenario which is consistent with gas-rich mergers being responsible for concurrent AGN activity. This conclusion is supported by the recent NANOGrav Pulsar Timing Array (PTA) measurements, whose upper limits on the stochastic gravitational wave strain amplitude lie below those expected from extrapolating the dual AGN fraction. The results indicate either a 'stalling' of the binaries at the separations probed by NANOGrav, or rapid gas-driven inspirals.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2401_04161
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Constraints on Supermassive Black Hole Binaries from JWST and NANOGrav
Padmanabhan, Hamsa
Loeb, Abraham
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
We use the recent statistics of dual active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the $James \ Webb \ Space \ Telescope$ (JWST) data at $z \sim 3.4$ to address two aspects of the feedback and evolution scenarios of supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHB). We find that the JWST data provide evidence for the members of a binary black hole being 'lit' at the same time, rather than independently -- a scenario which is consistent with gas-rich mergers being responsible for concurrent AGN activity. This conclusion is supported by the recent NANOGrav Pulsar Timing Array (PTA) measurements, whose upper limits on the stochastic gravitational wave strain amplitude lie below those expected from extrapolating the dual AGN fraction. The results indicate either a 'stalling' of the binaries at the separations probed by NANOGrav, or rapid gas-driven inspirals.
title Constraints on Supermassive Black Hole Binaries from JWST and NANOGrav
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.04161